English National Ballet - Mary Skeaping’s Giselle
Mary Skeaping’s Giselle is over 50 years old, as traditional as traditional can be & is back for a short run at the London Coliseum…
Erina Takahashi and Francesco Gabriele Frola in Mary Skeaping’s Giselle. © Photography by ASH
English National Ballet
Mary Skeaping’s Giselle
★★★★✰
London, Coliseum
15 January 2025
www.ballet.org.uk
londoncoliseum.org
English National Ballet (ENB) is unique in British ballet in having two versions of the same ballet in their repertoire — it may seem mad, but it has worked out and worked out very well indeed. Their very modern industrial take on Giselle is by Akram Khan and was showcased (again) to many appreciative reviews (including my own) only last autumn, while their time-honoured telling of Giselle, by Mary Skeaping, opened last night for a short run at the London Coliseum. And as night follows day more appreciative reviews will cascade out today, including this one.
The Skeaping Giselle has the clearest of narratives, introducing Giselle and her two suitors within seconds of the curtain rising: one, the local lad Hilarion, whose love is not reciprocated, and the other, the dissembling Duke Albrecht. Albrecht is intoxicated by Giselle’s beauty and conceals his high-born identity to woo her, without thought as to what happens next. And Giselle is equally enchanted by Albrecht, but everything unravels catastrophically when his high-born fiancée, Bathilde, part of a hunting party, arrives in the village. The deception is unmasked and drives Giselle to madness, and her frail heart gives way. She joins the ranks of the Wilis — the ghosts of young girls betrayed by their fiancés and who died before their wedding day. Act 2 is all about the Wilis and the vengeance they seek on men who enter their darkly wooded world, as well as the enduring love of Giselle for Albrecht and his love for her. Although the plot might be melodramatic and otherworldly, it shows love triumphing over everything, resonating mightily regardless of the century.
This production is now over 50 years old and was built on even earlier ballet pillars, all of which makes for a very traditional show, emphasised by the richly detailed Rhineland village designs of David Walker. We also get codified ballet mime and what are really pure dance interludes for the corps, along with a fine Peasant pas de deux danced with brio by Ivana Bueno and a particularly sparkling Noam Durand. The only aspect that slightly jars for me in this staging is the arrival of the hunting party in the village — they don’t come en masse with full spectacle, but rather seem to slowly dribble out on to the stage. Very odd when so much looks right.
There was an extra dimension to the opening night with Erina Takahashi as Giselle, in what are her final appearances as a Lead Principal with ENB. After nearly 30 years of performing on stage, she has seemed an almost permanent fixture, forever young — this was emphasised last night as she skipped and twirled in girlish happiness at the start of the performance. Hers is a heartfelt and touchingly human descent into the other world, capping a fine career. Albrecht is a tough role to get right — at once a privileged rotter and also a man in love — and Francesco Gabriele Frola captures it just right. He has a fantastic jump and sharply defined technique, but he never shows off; his body is used in the service of the narrative, and I applaud that mightily. Fabian Reimair’s Hilarion provided strong support as the frustrated suitor, while Precious Adams as Queen of the Wilis (Myrtha) reminded me once again of what a commanding presence she is on stage, and I want to see her in lead roles. And the dancing and sculptural poses of the Wilis was finely realised. And a bravo to Gavin Sutherland and the orchestra for doing full justice to the Adam score and getting the tempo just right.
All up I think the Skeaping Giselle is probably the best telling in the country — which is saying something, given Peter Wright’s much-loved production for the Royal Ballet. I certainly hope it’s around for another 50 years to remind us of ballet’s important roots, roots that still resonate in an ever-changing world.